“Dad, people are voting for Donald Trump because he was in Home Alone. I saw it on Tic Tok.”

Asher our 4th grader was so excited on Monday when his 4th literacy class started assigning fiction after a long bout of non-fiction. Asher told me, “I can dream everything up!” He was happy. He has always liked twisting the truth into stories. I think of that as being creative. His teachers might think of other things.

I did not want to watch the returns last night. It all felt like too much - especially seeing all the red and how close it was going to be. I don’t understand the parents who are supporting Trump, let alone almost half the country. There was also the fear that after the dust settles half of us would be either deeply depressed or raging with threats that were not empty.

Jackson, our 13 year old was watching CNN in the living room as I was trying to keep busy after dinner in the kitchen making apple crisp. By the time I got everything in the oven I surrendered to the seat next to Jackson. Watching the “magic board” was like being an epileptic at a disco. It made me dizzy and I felt numb. Jackson (being Jackson) never gave up hope. “DAD! Biden has a chance in Arizona!” that was after Florida and Texas folded for Trump. It was hard to get excited but I played along. I was remembering too well the night 4 years ago when we just stopped talking in shock. “DAD! Virginia went for Biden!!” Jackson screamed as I couldn’t watch anymore and was heading up to bed.

I laid in bed thinking it was deja vu all over again. How could I tell my kids that the truth mattered? How could I talk about the “UNITED States” or “Justice ( & Health Care) for All” or “Black Lives Matter” or about climate change or the common good with the current president making up his own fiction live from the White House?

First thing this morning Asher yelled out from his bedroom through the door, “Do you think Trump is the least racist person in the room?”” I yelled back, “The least racist person in your bedroom? A room at the White House?”

I saw it on Tic Tok.”

Back to Richard Farina's autobiography, "Been Down So Long Look Like Up From Here"....or.....maybe the title of this picture is, "Happy Endings sometimes hurt".